Judy's Death (Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery Book 2)

by Gillian Larkin

  A Cara Daniels Cozy Mystery

  Book 2

  Judy’s Death

  Chapter 1

  Cara Daniels stared at the blond-haired vision that had just appeared in front of her. The young man grinned and gave her a little wave.

  Cara leant back on her chair, folded her arms and said, “So, are you my angel?”

  The man nodded. “I certainly am. I’m very pleased to meet you, Cara. What a lovely home you have. It’s small but cosy.” He pointed towards her computer. “What are you working on? According to my records, you design websites and solve online problems. Are you designing a website now? Can I have a look?”

  Cara’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t look like the other angel I met.”

  The man smiled. “I know. You met Edward, didn’t you? He looks like Santa.” His smile dropped. “Oh! Did you want me to look like Santa? I can do that if you like.” He pushed his floppy hair back, his smile returned. “Although, I do like this look, I look like someone out of a boy band, don’t you think so?”

  Cara said, “I don’t know what to think yet. I’m not convinced about this whole business of me working with an angel to save someone’s life. I know I helped Gran a few weeks back when she prevented a murder.”

  “You didn’t just help, you stopped the murder going ahead,” the man pointed out.

  Cara’s frown deepened. “I’m beginning to think that I imagined this whole angel thing. I’ve had a lot of work to do lately, I think I must have experienced a hallucination.” She rubbed her tummy. “And my health isn’t as good as it should be. I really should see a doctor at some point.”

  The young man suddenly flapped his hands at her. He grinned and said, “Did you have soup today?”

  “No. Why?”

  He put his hands down and looked disappointed. “That’s a shame. I’ve been working on a joke about soup.”

  “A joke? I don’t want to hear a joke! I want to stop having these crazy hallucinations!” Cara closed her eyes tightly.

  The man said, “I’ll tell you anyway. If you’d have had soup for lunch you could have blamed that for giving you so-called hallucinations.” He paused. Cara opened one eye. He stood taller and said, “Then I could have said, ‘You must think there’s more soup than supernatural about me’. Ha! Do you get it? It’s a bit like that line from Christmas Carol when Scrooge doesn’t believe in ghosts and he blames gravy!”

  Cara’s other eye opened.

  The man wagged a finger at her. “You can laugh at that joke later. I can tell by your face that you’re not convinced I’m real. Let me tell you what I know about you, Cara Daniels. You are thirty years old. You live alone in this apartment. You were married but your husband left you for someone else a few years ago, a younger woman.”

  Cara winced.

  The man continued, “You work online. Oh, I’ve already said that. You spend a lot of time alone. You’re anti social.”

  “I am not!” Cara butted in. “I speak to the postman, sometimes.”

  “You have a kind heart and a generous spirit, but you are wasting those traits. Edward says that you have potential to be a great soul saver.” He walked closer and nipped her arm. “And I am real.”

  “Ouch!” Cara rubbed her arm. “What’s your name then?”

  “My angel name is …” he began, and then said something incomprehensible.

  Cara blinked. “All I heard was something-something-tron. Haven’t you got another name?”

  He looked over her shoulder and out of the window. “I’ll pick a human name.” He thought for a moment. “Robin. I like that.”

  Cara turned her head. She tutted when she saw the little bird of the same name perched on a nearby tree. She turned back to Robin and said, “Did you just make that up? Hey! Weren’t you wearing a blue T-shirt a second ago?”

  Robin nodded and grinned. “I changed it to match my little friend’s chest out there. Do you think I’m real yet?”

  Cara shrugged.

  Robin moved to the middle of the room. “Watch out, these might be bigger than I remember, I don’t need to turn them into physical form often.” He held his arms out. Two huge wings appeared at either side of him. The tips of the wings reached both ends of the room. He looked at Cara and said, “Come over and have a feel if you like.”

  “No, thank you.” Cara sighed. “I do know that you’re an angel, I was trying to convince myself that this soul saver business wasn’t real.”

  “Tell me what you know about being a soul saver.”

  “Just what Gran and Edward told me, and what I saw for myself. Gran told me she’s a soul saver and that she stops people from committing murder. Those kind of murders that are spur of the moment, when people aren’t thinking straight. Gran said that when normally good people commit these murders they can never forgive themselves. It makes their souls shrivel.”

  “That’s true. Their souls don’t disappear forever, but it feels like that to the human. These murders can also be accidents, did your gran or Edward tell you that?”

  Cara shook her head. “Does that mean I have to go around making sure accidents don’t happen?”

  “Sometimes.” Robin retracted his wings. “So, Cara Daniels, are you agreeing to go on a soul saving mission?”

  “I’m not sure.” Cara looked at her computer screen, aware that she was making excuses. “I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  Robin’s look softened. “Cara, I’m an angel. I know when you’re lying.”

  Cara clasped her hands together and looked down at them. “I’m scared. I don’t want someone’s life to be in my hands.” She looked up. “What if I don’t stop the murder?”

  “If you sit here and do nothing then you definitely won’t stop the murder. Don’t you want to even try? You could do with getting out more, get some sun on your face, you’re very pale.” He let out a laugh. “When I first saw you I thought you were a ghost!” He jumped and looked down at the watch he was wearing. “It’s on vibrate. Ah. I see. We’ve got forty-eight hours to stop the murder of someone called Judy Wallace. She lives in this town.”

  “Judy Wallace? I’ve seen her name somewhere today.” Cara stood up and walked over to her window sill where there was a large pile of junk mail. She looked through them and pulled a sheet out. “Judy Wallace works at the library, she’s in charge of the local book festival that’s starting tomorrow. There’s a photo of her.” Cara looked closer. “Oh.”

  Robin walked over and looked down at the photo. “What a sweet-looking old lady, she’s got a friendly smile. Who would want to kill her?”

  Cara felt something tug at her heart. Judy Wallace did have a sweet face. How could Cara let her be murdered?

  Chapter 2

  Robin said, “I like your car.”

  Cara’s hands shook as she shoved the keys into the ignition. “It’s not mine, it’s Gran’s. She left it to me when she went on a world cruise.” The car started up. Cara wiped her hands on her jeans. She looked over at Robin. “I haven’t driven for years, this might be a bumpy ride.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Robin assured her. “Don’t worry about me. If we crash I won’t get hurt.”

  “That’s reassuring,” Cara muttered. She pulled away from the kerb, aware that sweat was forming on her brow. In a casual tone she said, “Do you know my gran?”

  “Abigail? All the angels know Abigail! She’s the best soul saver that’s ever lived! No one will ever be as good as her.” Robin laughed and shook his head. “It’s going to be hard for you, Cara, to live up to Abigail.”

  “Thanks,” Cara said.

  Robin caught her tone. “Oh! I didn’t mea
n that in a bad way! It’s just, I’m glad I’m not you starting out on your soul-saving journey. No, that didn’t sound any better. Watch out for that lorry!”

  Cara pressed her lips together and concentrated on driving. After a moment she said, “Are you going to stay with me all day? When Edward helped Gran he disappeared for a while.”

  Robin said, “I’m going to stay with you as long as I can! I haven’t helped a soul saver before, I was hoping that you could show me what to do.”

  Cara’s hands slipped on the steering wheel. “But I don’t know what to do either!”

  Robin laughed. “Well, this is going to be fun!” He pushed his floppy hair back. “Do you like my hair, it’s very modern, isn’t it?”

  Cara didn’t reply as she pulled into the library car park.

  “What a beautiful building!” Robin exclaimed. “I can’t wait to see inside. Can we have a good look around?” He leaned closer to Cara and said, “There’s so much I want to see! I’ve read books about Earth before but this is my first time here.”

  Cara looked at his eager face. She didn’t want to say no to him but felt he would get in the way. She needed to meet Judy Wallace and she didn’t want Robin acting like an excited puppy at her side.

  Robin’s eager expression changed. He moved away from her and said, “You don’t want me to come with you.”

  “Can you read my mind?”

  “No, I can read your face.” Robin tried to smile. “I’ll wait here. I can look at the building from the outside.”

  Cara thought for a moment. “Can other people see you?”

  Robin nodded. “I’m in human form at the moment.”

  “If you made yourself invisible you could go inside and have a look around. How does that sound?”

  “Awesome.” Robin took a deep breath. “I’ve changed out of human form.”

  “I can still see you.”

  “Of course you can, no one else can. Let’s go!” He floated through the passenger door and towards the library building. Cara blinked as she watched him float through the stone walls. “I’ll go through the door,” she said to the now empty seat at her side.

  As soon as she walked through the library doors she saw Judy Wallace. Judy was standing behind the main desk and had her back to Cara, but Cara knew it was her. There was a fine black line around Judy. Cara had seen it when she’d helped Gran prevent the previous murder. Gran had called it the line of death. The line got thicker as the victim got closer to being murdered. Cara was expecting to see the line but actually seeing it around Judy stopped her in her tracks.

  Judy turned around and spotted her. She gave her a friendly smile and called out, “Good afternoon! Welcome to our library. How can I help you today?”

  Cara’s throat felt dry. Judy Wallace looked like she’d stepped out of a bygone age. She was wearing a tweed skirt and a twinset. Pearls hung elegantly around her neck and her hair was neatly arranged in a bun. The smile on Judy’s face was genuine, it reached all the way to her eyes.

  Cara knew she’d do all that she could to prevent Judy’s murder. She walked towards the desk and took out the flyer that she’d found at home. Cara said, “I’d like to volunteer at the literary festival. It says on this leaflet that you need volunteers. I know it’s last minute but …”

  Judy leant over the counter and grabbed Cara’s hands. “Oh! You’re an angel! An absolute angel!”

  Cara kept her face straight as she saw the real angel in the room whoosh past them and towards a photocopier. Robin stared down at it, he looked over at Cara and shouted, “A photocopier! I’ve only ever seen a picture of one before! Have you seen what’s over there? Books! Lots and lots of books!” He flew away.

  Cara turned her attention back to Judy who still had hold of her hands. Cara said, “I don’t know what use I’ll be but I’d love to help.”

  Judy released her hands and said, “Do you know about computers? Do you know how to download something? Is that the right word, download?”

  Cara nodded.

  Judy’s hands flew to her chest and said, “I think you’ve just saved my life!”

  Chapter 3

  Judy stuck her hand out towards Cara in greeting and said, “I’m Judy Wallace. Would you like to come round to this side of the desk, I need you to look at something.”

  Cara took Judy’s hand and introduced herself. She came round to Judy’s side of the desk and looked at where Judy was pointing. It was an old computer.

  Judy said, “I’ve got a laptop at home and I sort of know how to use it. But this old thing! It should have been replaced years ago.” She shook her head. “We just don’t have the money for new equipment. Have you seen one of these before?”

  “I have, my dad still has one. What are you trying to do?” Cara sat down at the computer.

  “We’ve got a couple of children’s authors coming to our festival tomorrow. They’ve sent me an email with some files attached. The files contain activity sheets that go with the books they’re going to read tomorrow. I promised the authors that I’d have them printed out and ready by the time they get here.”

  Cara nodded. “And what’s the problem?”

  “I think I’ve downloaded them but I don’t know where they went on the computer!” She indicated her head towards a printer in the corner. “This old computer is the only one that’s linked to the printer.” She sighed. “No one else seems to have this problem. Me and technology don’t get along!” She held up a finger. “I can email though, I’ve got the hang of that.”

  Cara said, “Let me have a look.” She tapped on the keyboard. The screen lit up. “Are these the emails from the authors?”

  “Yes.”

  Cara tapped away at the keyboard. She said, “How many copies of each sheet would you like?”

  “Fifty of each should be enough. Have you managed to do it?”

  They both looked behind them as the printer began to make a noise. Judy walked over and picked up a sheet. She held it up and smiled at Cara. “You’ve done it! Thank you!” She returned to Cara and said, “I’m so glad you sorted that out. I was about to ask for help from one of my younger colleagues. I hate having to do that. Some of them think I’m too old to be here.”

  “They’re probably right,” a cold voice said.

  Cara looked up. A chill shot down her spine as she met the icy stare of a young woman. The woman had short dark hair and was wearing a black business suit. The red lipstick she wore seemed to drain all colour from her face. The woman said to Cara, “Who are you?”

  Judy spoke up, “This is Cara, she’s volunteered to help at the festival. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  The woman’s cold look focused on Judy as she said, “Have you run a background check on her? She could be anyone.” She gave a dramatic sigh. “Judy, there are security issues to think about. You know who we’ve got coming here tomorrow.” She pointed a red nail at Cara. “She could be a stalker or a murderer. I knew you weren’t up to organising this year’s event, it’s too much at your age.”

  Cara cast a glance at Judy. The smile hadn’t left her face. Judy said, “I am more than capable, Lauren, and I’ve been more than capable since I set this event up twenty years ago. I’d thank you to not speak to Cara like that, she’s already proved herself to be invaluable.”

  “Really? Has she turned on that computer for you? I know how terrible you are around technology.”

  Judy’s smile tightened. “I’m fine with technology. Was there something you wanted?”

  Cara saw a vein throb on Lauren’s temple. It was not a good look for a woman. Lauren said, “I wanted to make sure everything was organised for tomorrow, for Snake-Eye’s visit. Have you double-checked everything?”

  “I’ve triple-checked everything. His visit has been booked for months, you know that.” Judy’s smile faded. “Have you come here to check up on me?”

  “As if I’ve got time to do that! You know that if anything goes wrong tomorrow it’s on your shoulders. You’l
l have to resign from the committee then.” Lauren threw them both a disgusted look, turned on her high heels and stalked away.

  Cara stood up and said, “Who was that?”

  “That was Lauren Ellis. I’m sorry you had to see that. I wish I could say she isn’t normally like that, but she is. She works at the solicitor’s up the road. She joined the literary committee this year in an effort to get herself known locally. I think she’s aiming for a place on the town council eventually. She’s already made her opinions known about the sort of literary festival that she wants our town to have. She says the more outrageous it is, the better it will be for publicity. That’s why we’re having Snake-Eye Jones here tomorrow.”

  “I’ve never heard of him. Or her.”

  “It’s a him. Neither had I until Lauren put his name forward at our initial planning meeting. He’s an author. He writes these terribly vivid horror novels, they’ve got vampires, werewolves and all sorts in them. I started to read one but I gave up after the first two pages.” Judy shivered. “I don’t care for that kind of book, and neither will the people of this town. I’ve been organising this festival long enough to know what people like.” She smiled at Cara. “Would you like to help me set up the children’s library for tomorrow? It’s through here. There are some toddlers in at the moment, they’re just finishing their story time.”

  Cara followed Judy into the brightly coloured children’s library. There was a member of staff sitting on the carpet at the far side of the room, she was reading a picture book out loud. Five little children sat at her feet, engrossed in the story. Cara couldn’t help smiling when she saw Robin sitting behind the children looking equally engrossed. He saw Cara come in and he yelled over, “It’s a story about an elephant in pyjamas!”

  Cara helped Judy pull some tables together. They arranged the newly printed activity sheets on the table along with some colouring pencils.

  There was a cheer from the far side of the room as the story was finished. Robin’s cheer was the loudest.